PDP boils as Govs sack Secondus; NWC kicks

A twist was added to the crisis rocking the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) over its chairmanship position on Thursday as its governors and the National Working Committee (NWC) engaged in a verbal war.

While the governors at the end of their meeting on Wednesday night sacked the Acting National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus and directed him to hand over to the PDP National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo, pending the appointment of a replacement from the North East, the NWC endorsed his lead¬ership.
The NWC led by Secondus said there has not been any change whatsoever in the leadership composition of the party at the national level and that Secondus remains the chairman.
The governors anchored their decision on Section 45(1) of the PDP’s Constitution which states that, “If a national officer of the party is removed or resigns from office, he shall immediately hand over to the national secretary all records, files and other properties of the party in his or her possession.”
In a communiqué issued at the end of their meeting, the PDP Governors’ Forum, lambasted the former Special Adviser to immediate past President Goodluck Jonathan, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak, for declaring himself the chairman of the party, expressing displeasure over the refusal of Secondus to respect the judgment of a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, which last December ordered him to vacate the office for any other person from the North East zone.
The governors, in a communiqué read by Ondo State Governor and Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, said: “We take cognisance of the judgment by the court in Abuja, which ordered the acting chairman to vacate office for any other person from the North East zone of Nigeria.
“Our party’s constitution has enough provisions for that and the necessary process has been put in motion. The appropriate organs of the party will meet soonest to elect a national chairman from the appro¬priate zone,” Mimiko said.
In a swift reaction to the governors’ position, the NWC National Legal Adviser, Mr. Victor Kwon, said Secondus remains the PDP Acting National Chairman.
He said: “For the avoidance of doubt, the statutory organs of the party, the NWC, National Caucus, Board of Trustees (BoT) and the National Executive Council (NEC) will be meeting next week to deliberate on some developments, including the replacement from the North East of which Alhaji Adamu Muazu, who resigned as the national chairman of the party came from.
Gulak blasts PDP governors
Meanwhile, the self-imposed PDP Chairman, Ahmed Gulak, has told the governors that they were misadvised to direct the National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo, to take over the chairmanship position from Secondus.
Gulak said that the call by the governors was not only contrary to the Constitution of the PDP 2012 as amended, it is a flagrant contempt of the declarative judgment given by the FCT High Court on December 16, 2015 which directed that himself or any other person from the North East zone should be appointed.
Gulak, in a statement said inasmuch as he has profound respect for the chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum and the governors, their statement shows that the office of the PDP chairman is vacant.